'I don't want to go'

After a £100,000 fine and an alleged stand-off with his club manager, England's brilliant left back Ashley Cole talks frankly about racism, his relationship with pop star Cheryl Tweedy and his future with Arsenal

Ashley Cole looks tired. Which, considering the tumultuous season the talented Arsenal and England left back has had, is not surprising. He helped his club to FA Cup victory by scoring in the decisive penalty shoot-out against arch rivals Manchester United. He has been pursued by the paparazzi, hungry for snaps of him with current amour, Girls Aloud pop starlet Cheryl Tweedy. And he has regularly made front-page headlines for the notorious 'tapping up' incident in which he met representatives from Chelsea Football Club to discuss a transfer, forbidden under FA regulations. Last week, he was fined £100,000 for that transgression. A complex and protracted appeals process, possibly involving the European Court of Human Rights, looms.

So what plans does the 24-year-old from Bow in east London have for the summer? 'Get away and chill. Get away from football,' he says softly. It won't be easy.

At 5ft 8in, Cole is a touch on the short side for a footballer. He has his profession's wiry, athletic build and enjoys striking, pretty boy looks. When we meet, he is wearing ripped jeans, an expensive looking casual top and a white 'Make Poverty History' band. His face is slightly lined, perhaps indicative of the four seasons he has already played at the football's elite level.

A World Cup, European Championship and the famous 5-1 hammering of Germany are standout entries on his international CV. At club level, he has won two Premiership titles and three FA Cups. He could become the first England defender since Bobby Moore to win 100 caps for England.

Despite the presence of a minder, Cole is open and friendly. We talk about his girlfriend. Tweedy, from Newcastle, has endured a colourful tabloid ride since she and four other girls were selected on a 2003 reality TV show to form Girls Aloud. Unusually for such bands, they remain popular. Is it easy having a partner also in the public eye? 'It's hard. But you can't help whom you love.'

He offers a vehement denial when asked if he and Tweedy are engaged, despite her once announcing: 'I don't want to be a typical footballer's wife.' Does he ever wonder what she is up to when she is pictured out on the town? 'No, I'm not a jealous guy. I trust her 100 per cent. There will always be stories saying she is doing this or doing that.'

There are also tales like the one that featured in the Mirror last month, discussing whether his girlfriend had breast implants. How much stick does he receive from team-mates? 'Not so much from my friends. Sometimes, though, the lads have pinned her picture to my locker.'

Cole laughs. But there were three weeks last autumn that gave him scant reason to chuckle. Arsenal's record 49-game unbeaten run collapsed at Old Trafford when they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United. It was an experience he describes as his worst as a player (his best also being at Old Trafford when Arsenal sealed the Premiership title two seasons ago). After the final whistle came the infamous incident in the tunnel, dubbed 'Pizzagate' by the tabloids, when United manager Alex Ferguson was pelted with soup and pizza. Days later, Cole was 'outed' on a tabloid front page as one of the guilty parties. Has he been practising his pizza throwing?' 'It wasn't me, mate,' he answers quickly.

Far more serious and harrowing was the night of 17 November during England's friendly against Spain at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid's stadium. I show Cole a picture of the baying crowd making monkey poses at him. He studies it at length. How painful was it? 'It was the first time I've played in a game where I've just lost it in my mind. You have to deal with fans and things like that, but I just didn't want to be on that pitch.'

The abuse of Cole and fellow black members of the team that night followed reports that Spain manager, Luis Aragonés, had described Cole's team-mate Thierry Henry as a 'black shit'.

Is Cole surprised that England captain David Beckham never went on record to object to the behaviour of what was, effectively, his home crowd? 'Straight after the game, he said he couldn't believe how bad they were. It's probably hard for him now he plays there every week.'

Does it put him off playing for a Spanish club? 'No.' Even though it seems endemic there? 'Of course, I wouldn't like [to go through that] week in and week out. But maybe as you said, over there it is normal so you just have to deal with it.'

Here, Cole's representative intervenes to insist that racism in Spanish football is not the norm. I show Cole pictures which seem to suggest otherwise, including one of Richard Morales, a black Uruguayan playing for Osasuna, mimicking the crowd's monkey chanting. Cole seems to agree: 'I've seen [Roberto] Carlos get it.' In addition to Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona head a host of top European clubs who are keen to sign the defender. Given that, you can't help but wonder whether the agent's intervention over racism is to ensure that nothing is said to jeopardise a possible move to Spain.

I broach the question Arsenal fans are desperate to have answered: will he remain at the club next year? 'You never know,' he says.

Does that mean you might stay? 'Yeah.' Do you want to go? 'No.'

So, if Real Madrid were interested? 'Yeah. As a player, you always want to improve your game and have a different environment and a different place. But I'm happy in England at the moment. But then again,' he adds quickly, 'you never know in football.' And what about reports that you 'hate' Arsenal? '[That's] people talking shit, innit.'

Before they got together, Tweedy had her own problems with racism. In October last year, she was convicted of actual bodily harm for an assault on toilet attendant Sophie Amogbokpa, in a Guildford nightclub the previous January that left Amogbokpa needing hospital treatment. Tweedy was cleared of the more serious charge of racially aggravated assault, having been accused of calling Amogbokpa a 'fucking black bitch'.

Has Cole, whose mother is white, discussed that incident with Tweedy?

'Of course I did. I know she has never been a racist. It's hard and she [Tweedy] knows it is hard but we spoke about it. Of course she would like to have her say but when a normal person says, "You've done that", then people tend to believe them.'

Cole does not like the tabloids. Last week he was pictured bleary eyed following a night out at London's Chinawhites that ended with him being restrained following taunts about the Chelsea saga.

In January, he was pictured with his bestfriend, ex-Arsenal and Birmingham winger JermainePennant, leaving a club with two blondes.

He had been seeing Tweedy for four months and so was forced to announce in the Sun: 'I would never stray from her.' This followed his 24th birthday party a month earlier when Tweedy was reported in the Mirror as having 'a massive ruck in front of shocked partygoers after one of Ash's pals made a nasty comment to the singer'.

Was there any truth in this? 'Rubbish.' Does it annoy you that this is in the papers? 'What can you do? People have got their opinions or people reckon they see these kind of things. There's nothing I can do about it.'

One tabloid story about the couple does appear to be true, because Cole is quoted directly. In January Cole told Victoria Newton of the Sun: 'We didn't buy each other Christmas presents. We talked about it and decided not to bother.'

Cole's rise to become arguably the best left back in the world - he is genuinely fast, an accomplished defender, and has an attacking edge - was rapid.

Born in 1980, he and younger brother, Matthew, were raised by his mother, Sue. Cole's father was absent and now lives abroad. Does he have any contact with him? 'Er... no, not too much. I used to but then he moved to Australia.' Does that bother him? 'Not really.'

The young Cole was always focused on being a professional and chose early nights when his brother would be 'out in nightclubs'.' He played for Puma in the east London leagues where a host of England internationals including John Terry, Ledley King and Lee Bowyer once hoofed a ball. Now he is promoting the Danone Cup, an international competition for 10- to 12-year-olds. 'When I was a kid, I didn't have competitions like this. For youngsters, it's the chance to travel and meet new people and try and enjoy yourself. That's the main thing when you're young. Enjoy yourself and get out and about.

'I've done a few things with kids; I'm not that much older and I remember when I used to see my idols. It lifted your life so it's good for me to work with kids and show my appreciation.'

Cole has been with Arsenal since he was nine. His England debut was against Albania on 28 March 2001, aged 20. Last week, he made his 41st international appearance in the friendly against Columbia in New York.

And he believes England have real chance in next summer's World Cup, providing they qualify. 'We're reasonably confident. If everyone stays fit then we've a good chance. All the players would love to win it for Sven-Göran Eriksson.'

Despite all his success, Cole admits he still has concerns. 'Everyone worries, whether they're a footballer or work in a little shop. People may think we just run around on the pitch but mentally it is just so draining.' Then, possibly with reference to the Chelsea saga, he says unprompted: 'But as I get older and wiser I know how you guys work.'

How?

'I'm just getting used to it now. When you're talking about football they [football journalists] can twist your words and use theirs. You see some things that go deep. Like stories about people's love life. Football journalists should just talk about players on the pitch, criticise their football. That's fair enough, that's what they get paid for.'

Maybe this explains why Cole has had a representative present throughout. And why there is also a request - later dropped - to view the article ahead of publication.

As I leave, I ask if it has upset him in general terms what has happened this season with Chelsea? For a moment, Cole and his minder pause, before he again declines to comment.

What, then, will he be doing to relax during what promises to be a turbulent summer? 'Play Power League [five-a-side football]. I love it, mate. All my friends are footballers and we play it every summer. We don't go serious, we take it easy.'